A Wildflower Summer

by Caroline Flynn

  The search engine found two potential hits. One was Forrester’s Auto, which boasted being Port Landon’s number one repair shop for all makes and models. The second was a small engine repair place that looked as though it conducted its business from the single-car garage in the owner’s backyard. Seeing as Cruella wasn’t a lawnmower and that Forrester’s Auto seemed to be embellishing their claims—they weren’t the number one repair shop in town, they were the only one—it looked like Lily had no other choice than to call the number in the listing. With each ring, she hoped the twenty-four-hour emergency line wasn’t just an embellishment, too.

  ‘Forrester.’

  She stared up at the sky, thanking the stars that twinkled back at her that someone answered. Even if he did sound about as awake and alert as the pebbles beneath her feet. ‘Hi, I’m sorry to call so late, but I found your number online. My car has broken down just outside Port Landon.’

  ‘No need to apologize. Whereabouts are you?’ Every word sounded on the verge of a yawn.

  Lily assessed her surroundings again. ‘I’m practically leaning against the welcome sign coming into town. I took exit …’ She sighed. No one would ever accuse her of being overly observant. ‘I’m not sure which exit it was, but I—’

  ‘It’s okay, I know where you are.’ The man on the phone didn’t try to hide his amusement. ‘There’s only one way in and out of town, for the most part. Will your car run at all?’

  ‘No, it was just making this wahhh wahhh sound and then cccrrrrrr when I tried to make it go faster.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t get that the first time. Can you do that again?’

  ‘It sounded like wahhh—wait a second, are you making fun of me?’ Lily’s face burned. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t see her.

  ‘You could’ve just told me it was making a whining sound, then grinding when you revved it,’ he chuckled. ‘But I’ll give you props, your imitations were spot on.’

  ‘So, you know what the issue is?’ The sliver of hope she clung to was stronger than the streak of embarrassment that coursed through her.

  ‘I’ve got a good idea, but I’ll need to come and take a look to be sure. Give me ten minutes, okay?’

  Relief—that’s what she felt. In ten measly minutes, someone was going to show up, make her car run smoothly again, and get her back on the highway, heading toward her and her young daughter’s new life. ‘You have no idea how perfect that sounds. Thank you.’

  ‘Don’t mention it.’

  She knew she should just hang up and let him get on his way to meet her, but the man had restrengthened her hope and made a joke at her expense. The least he could do was tell her who he was. ‘I’m assuming Forrester isn’t your first name.’

  ‘I’m Jason,’ he replied easily. ‘And you are?’

  ‘Lily,’ she said. ‘Lily Brentwood.’

  ‘It’s nice to meet you, Lily Brentwood. I’ll see you soon.’ He hung up without another word.

  ***

  It was the only shining headlights she had seen since taking the exit and pulling over in the outskirts of Port Landon. Somehow, Lily didn’t think that was considered an oddity in these parts.

  The spheres of bright light grew larger as the truck drew closer, spotlighting the gravel and asphalt in their blinding streaks of brightness. They rolled to a stop behind Lily’s car. Engine still rumbling, the driver’s door opened and a man climbed out. Tall and wide at the shoulders, his silhouette reminded Lily of one of those football players in the movies: strong and muscular, outlined in stadium lights as he ascended the field and prepared for battle.

  Lily, however, was the one trying to avoid a battle, and she scurried forward, meeting him in the space between her vehicle and his. Her car keys were wedged between her fingers at her side, the only weapon she had at the ready in case he wasn’t as friendly as she hoped.

  ‘I’m assuming you’re Lily?’ he asked as she approached. ‘I’m Jason.’

  She stared up, shielding her eyes in hopes of seeing him clearly. ‘Thank goodness. Can you do me a huge favor and turn your truck off, Jason? The lights are shining into my car, and I’d really like to avoid waking my daughter if I can.’ She winced, praying she didn’t sound ungrateful, but things would go much more smoothly if she could keep Eden from being rudely awakened.

  Jason’s expression transformed instantly to something resembling a mix of surprise and mortification. ‘Of course. I didn’t realize you had anybody with you. One sec.’ He bolted back inside the truck and killed the engine. The sudden silence was quickly followed by the immediate absence of light, and the highway was plunged into darkness once again.

  Lily blinked in quick succession, waiting for her eyes to readjust. When they did, Jason Forrester was in front of her again. His features were shadowed by his baseball cap, but she was pretty sure not even a worldwide blackout could dim what she saw in his eyes. More comforting warmth radiated from them than she had ever witnessed from anyone’s gaze before, let alone from a complete stranger.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ he said, pulling his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. ‘If I’d known, I’d have tried to be a little quieter.’

  Lily figured he meant it since he was now whispering. ‘It’s no problem, really. I should have said something on the phone.’ She cast a glance at the rear windshield, saw no movement and heard no impending wails. ‘She’s still fast asleep, so there’s no harm done. If she wasn’t, trust me, we’d know.’

  Jason chuckled. ‘I know exactly what you mean. My daughter’s the same way. If she’s awake, she’s going to make sure I hear her.’ He held his wallet out toward Lily. ‘There’s my driver’s license, by the way. To prove I am who I say I am.’

  Using the glow of her cellphone light, she glanced at the name and Port Landon address on the card, nodding when the photo matched the man before her. She loosened her grip on the keys in her other hand, slightly. ‘Thank you for that. How old is your daughter?’

  ‘Four, going on fifteen.’

  ‘Mine, too!’ Lily laughed, then clamped a hand over her mouth. If, after warning him to stay quiet, she was the one to wake up Eden, she had a feeling the man standing in front of her would have something to say about it. And he would enjoy saying it, too. ‘Well, she’s five, but definitely going on fifteen. That’s quite the coincidence.’

  ‘Quite. Her birthday’s in a couple of weeks.’ He stared at her as though he couldn’t see her clearly. Like he was curious and intrigued and …

  Interested.

  Get over yourself, Lily chastised herself. He’s here to boost your car, not your confidence. Then again, if she was thinking he might be interested purely because he looked at her in some strange way, maybe her confidence was already overinflated.

  ‘Let’s see what’s going on with your car.’ Jason stepped around her and popped the hood with ease. ‘I’ll be as quiet as I can.’ His movements were careful and methodical, proving he meant it. He didn’t want to awaken a sleeping child any more than she did.

  Lily watched him work, pulling a small flashlight from his back pocket and checking multiple things under the hood. She didn’t know a nut from a bolt when it came to cars, so Lily wasn’t about to pretend she had a clue what he was doing. He did, though. That was obvious.

  The wheels in his head were clearly turning. Jason said nothing as he assessed the situation. When he suddenly stood up and held a finger up in a wait here gesture, she didn’t know whether he was leaving or just getting something from his truck, or if she should laugh that he felt the need to make the gesture in the first place.

  Where in the world was she going to go?

  Jason jogged back to his Dodge Ram, pulling the tailgate down to grab something from the truck bed. Upon return, he held what looked like a little computer with two little wires hanging from it.

  ‘That looks serious,’ she stated.

  ‘It’s a multimeter. It’ll tell me if I’m on the right track or not.’ He disappeared back
under the hood.

  The tightness of his angular jaw made Lily think he already knew the answer to that question, and that she wasn’t going to like it. He started to tap the little probes on the ends of the wires against something, and Lily stopped watching after that. Jason wasn’t looking at her, but there was no mistaking the way he winced at whatever he was seeing on the little digital screen in front of him.

  Dread made her stomach plummet. ‘You want me to try starting it or something?’

  Jason glanced up. ‘I’m not sure I need you to,’ he admitted. ‘One sec.’

  Lily pushed away from the horror story that was beginning to unravel under the hood to sneak a peek into the backseat. Hands cupped to peer in, she saw Eden still sleeping soundly in her car seat, head tilted, mouth hanging slightly open. One of her unruly blonde ringlets had fallen across her porcelain forehead. The little girl was completely unaware that her mother’s dreams for the both of them were on the verge of disintegrating into dust.

  ‘What’s your daughter’s name?’

  His voice floated on the breeze, dragging Lily back to the here and now. Jason didn’t look up from whatever he was doing, but the question hung between them, seeming to grow more compelling the longer it went unanswered. She wondered if it was merely his voice that gave each word that kind of power.

  ‘Eden.’ She stole one more glance at the girl as she said her name, then trudged back around to the front of the car. ‘What about yours?’

  ‘Carlie,’ he replied. ‘And she’d have woken up long before now if she was the one in that car seat. The slightest jostle or spoken word and that girl is awake and wondering what she’s missing out on.’ It was hard to construe it as a complaint when he was grinning like the proud father he obviously was.

  ‘Not Eden,’ Lily chuckled. ‘She sleeps like she’s hoping to claim she’s an expert on her job résumé someday.’

  ‘Consider yourself lucky.’ Jason’s hands had stopped moving. His attention was turned toward her, sharing in the amusement, and the understanding.

  ‘Trust me, I do. Every day.’

  There was that look in his eyes again, the one Lily couldn’t read. The one she was thinking was something it wasn’t. Yet, he was holding her gaze the same way, tilting his head curiously. It was the same angle Eden’s head was tilted at, only there was no solace in it. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

  ‘So, what’s the damage?’ She ripped her focus away from him and turned her attention to the car. Where it should have been in the first place. ‘Can you fix it and get me back on the road, Mr. Forrester?’ She wondered if the formal way of addressing him sounded like the proverbial step back she heard in her own tone. She didn’t know, but that was exactly what she needed to do, take a big old step away and get things back on track. Lily didn’t need to be standing here in the middle of the night, making friends with the handsome mechanic who had come to her rescue like a white knight in a blue Dodge truck. She needed to get the wheels back in motion and keep moving forward. This momentary standstill had taken too long already.

  Jason stood to his full height and unlatched the metal rod that held the hood up, slowly lowering it and pushing on the hood until there was a telltale click to confirm it was latched closed. ‘I’ve got a feeling you’re in a big hurry,’ he said carefully.

  ‘I’m on my way to Chicago.’ Lily said the words, but they were already void of emphasis. She could almost feel what Jason was about to confess before he actually admitted it.

  ‘Not tonight, I’m afraid.’ He had the decency to flinch on her behalf. ‘Not in this car, anyway. I’m pretty sure your alternator is toast, as well as the battery. And I’ll be honest, there are a few things going on under that hood that, if they aren’t issues at the moment, they’re going to be, real soon. I can fix it, but it definitely won’t be tonight. I’ll have to order parts in and—’

  ‘That sounds expensive.’

  Another flinch. ‘It’s not a minor repair, unfortunately. I know that’s not what you want to hear. I’m sorry.’

  ‘It’s not your fault.’ Which was true, but Lily yearned for someone to blame other than herself. The problem was, the blame lay at her feet, and for good reason. She hadn’t been as prepared as she’d thought, after all.

  ‘I can probably get you back on the road by next week,’ Jason assured her.

  ‘Next week?’ she squeaked out. Granted, it was Thursday, and since parts had to be ordered, it made logical sense, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. Not to mention, Lily was pretty sure there wasn’t enough money sitting in her bank account to pay for the repairs. Another thing she hadn’t planned for.

  ‘I can tow it back to the garage in a few hours to get a better idea of what’s really going on. Unfortunately, the tow truck is in use at the moment. Two calls in one evening; a big night in Port Landon.’ He grinned, but Lily couldn’t bring herself to return the gesture. ‘In the morning, I can look up the parts and give you a more accurate timeline and cost. How does that sound?’

  Lily appreciated the apology in his tone, but she couldn’t help but be honest with herself: it didn’t sound good at all.

  ‘There’s no other option, I’m assuming.’ It was her last feeble attempt at hope. There had to be something else that could be done, something that would keep her and Eden heading toward the heart of Chicago instead of sitting at a standstill in the middle of nowhere.

  ‘Afraid not,’ Jason admitted. ‘But I’ll do what I can, and as fast as I can do it, to help you out.’

  Defeated, Lily nodded. She couldn’t ask for more than that. He was a complete stranger offering the only olive branch he had. She grabbed on to it and gripped it tight. ‘I appreciate that. More than you know. Go ahead and tow it, then we’ll go from there.’ He was her only hope at the moment. She had to have faith in him despite not knowing a thing about him.

  Lily didn’t harbor hope for anyone, least of all strangers. Yet, here she was, stranded with a man who promised things that gave her the tiniest sliver of it to cling to. She knew how dangerous that could be. How hard. And still, she clung to it like a lifeline.

  Maybe there was no hope for her, either.

  Chapter 2

  Jason

  Jason had been completely out of it when his cellphone rang. Being ripped from sleep by the shrill ring left him with a pounding heart and the immediate conclusion that something was wrong, something had happened, to Carlie, to his mother. He wondered if there would ever be a time when his rational side would kick in before he answered the phone and realized his worst fears were exactly that … fears. Not rooted in reality, and the world wasn’t ending. He was just on call, as he always was. It was one of the joys of owning his own business.

  Having the only tow truck in Port Landon was both a blessing and a curse. Jason was grateful that he could aid his community when they needed him—he would never begrudge the town residents his help if he could offer it, just as they would never turn away from him, either. But on those nights, long after the clock had struck midnight, when folks called his number and sent him into a fearful frenzy, he wished he could bestow that double-edged sword on someone else.

  Tonight, he had done exactly that, about two hours prior. A call had come in and he had taken his best friend, Branch, up on his offer to share tow calls. It was one of the many moments that had occurred over the past six months that he was relieved and appreciative that his friend had moved back to town and decided to work for him. Rarely did Jason pass a late-night call on to Branch. Now, he was glad he had. Sure, his phone had scared the living daylights out of him, tearing him away from the first decent sleep he’d had in days, but there was something about the voice on the other end of the line that made him grateful it was him on the other end of the line.

  Until he had to give her the bad news, at least. Then, he felt a flicker of guilt at having to tell the poor woman that she and her daughter weren’t going anywhere fast driving the rusted Corolla. The car had died
a heroic death, he would give it that. Frankly, he was shocked it had been running at all based on the cracked hoses and worn gaskets he saw under the hood. He had a hunch that automotive maintenance wasn’t high on Lily Brentwood’s priority list.

  Something else was, though. Judging by her eagerness to get back on the road, he thought it was safe to assume that whatever was in Chicago was at the top of that list.

  ‘Is there a hotel nearby where I can book a room, by chance?’

  Jason wiped his hands on his jeans. ‘Port Landon is hardly big enough for a hotel, but there’s a bed and breakfast in town, and it’s not too far from my garage. I know the owners. I could give them a call, if you want?’ He had his cellphone pulled from his pocket before he’d even got the entire question out. Options were limited. It was the best he could offer.

  Lily seemed genuinely surprised by his willingness. ‘Oh, um, sure. I can call them, though.’

  ‘It’s no problem.’ He searched through his contacts for Nancy Bergeron’s number. Nancy had been friends with his mother for as long as Jason could remember, and they had even headed Port Landon’s community gardening committee when his parents had still lived in town. ‘I’m sure they’ll have room for you and Eden. I can drop you off there. Give me a second.’ He wandered away from her to make the call. Privacy wasn’t needed, but he felt bad for waking up Nancy in the same shrill manner he had been awakened. Like him, however, it came with the territory of owning a business that catered to the public. Being available every hour of every day included the hours that were less than convenient.